Unlike these animals, were back.
That wasnt funny, doesnt even really make sense.
The point is - weve done 2 videos now talking about insanely big or scary or just weird
creatures that lived for a long time ago and weve all come together and given thanks that
they don't exist anymore - otherwise wed be their dinner.
If youre joining us for the first time in this series, welcome, if youre returning for
some more scary creatures, youre in for a treat - my name is Danny Burke and this is
the Top 10 Extinct Animals We Shouldnt Bring Back To Life - Part 3
Coming in at number 10 now we have The Lioleurodon.
This thing belong to the Plesiosaur family - they lived alongside dinosaurs and also
died out around the same time.
Different species but it might help you to visuals these scary beasts.
They were huge - weighing more than 3 and a half thousand pounds and growing to over
30ft in size.
Around a quarter of that alone was just their skull.
Think about that - thats 7 and a half feet of just skull - a skull filled with a powerful
jaw and several rows of razor sharp teeth.
The Lioleurodon outlasted some of its other Plesiosaur relatives.
They survived for about 10 million years after the extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs.
Their fossils have been found many in Europe, in places like France and England.
Thats right, Im from the same place as Lioleurodon, Im trying to feel pride here but I really
cant …
Next up at number 9 we have Gorgonops.
This is an extinct Theraspid that lived about 260 millions years ago - thats such a long
time ago.
The T Rex dinosaur lived closer to modern day, right now, than to when the Gorgonops
lived - but about 130 million years.
This ancient creature was doing its thing before dinosaurs were the top predators on
the planet.
It was actually the Gorgonops that were the top predators.
They grew up to 2 metres in length from nose to tail and seem to have dominated southern
Africa.
They needed their huge sharp canine teeth to pierce through the hides of the big herbivores
around at the time.
Relative to its size, Gorgonops had a deep skull which had a triangular profile when
viewed from above.
And lets talk about those teeth again, the 12cm teeth were so long they protrude beyond
the lower jaw.
Of course, big scary fangs like this needed protection and so the jaws grew to be thicker
at the front than the rear.
Next up at number 8 we have the Megatherium.
Sloths are cute right?
Slow, furry, small - well our next animal is 2 out of 3.
Megatherium was a sloth that lived in South America that existed up to just 10,000 years
ago.
Close call.
These things were the size of elephants, some specimens have been measured at 20ft from
head to tail - can you even imagine that?
There arent many other land mammals that have ever been as big as this thing - perhaps mammoths?
In terms of behaviour, it acted much like a sloth, using its giant claws to cling on
to tree branches or standing up on its hind legs to get to hard to reach food.
They weighed up to 4 tonnes so if they fell over, you better hope your not underneath
them.
An interesting thought is that because they died not long ago, in the grand scheme of
things, humans lived alongside them - they may have even contributed to their demise.
Thats right, you, yes you, had an ancestor that saw a giant sloth.
Thats pretty cool.
Moving on to number 7 now we have the Thalatt oarchon.
This creature was part of the Ichthyosaur family, another group of marine reptiles that
are mistakenly thought of as dinosaurs.
I didnt think dinosaurs when I first saw the pictures of them - my first thought was hell
dolphin - a dolphin from hell.
These 28 foot long creatures were the top predators in their time, crushing prey their
own size with their powerful jaws.
It lived about 245 million years ago, were talking about another insanely ancient creature.
So far, scientists think it lived around the US western coast.
Not much more is know than that - in fact, because of their age and the lack of specimens,
these things werent even discovered until 2010 and formally described until 2013.
Next up at number 6 now we have Arthropleura.
All you creepy crawly haters probably thought Id forgotten about you - oh no, this ones
for you.
This was an 8 and a half foot long millipede that lived over 300 million years ago.
Let me just say that again - this millipede, was 8 and a half ft long.
Some of you who are squirming right now might be thinking - OK, its huge but at least its
slow and I can see where it is, as long as its not scuttling up me - sorry to break it
to you but these things were fast.
Fossil trackways have been discovered that indicate the creature could move and maneuver
quickly, moving hundreds of legs in perfect rhythm.
Scientists even think if it felt threatened, it would have reared up onto its back to face
the threat head on.
Theres a nice bedtime image for you!
Moving on to number 5 now we have The Daeodon.
This thing was the mother of all pigs.
This was a pig that was the size of a rhino - I really don't know how to sell this one
to you other than that.
It was a rhino pig.
Daeodon lived from 29 to 19 million years ago and its fossils have been found throughout
the US.
Adults had skulls about 3ft long and they stood about 5.8ft tall at the shoulders.
If you like the sound of the Daedons name - your gonna love its translation - it literally
means -Hostile Destructive Teeth- … thats a fair name - especially based on the pictures
youcan see now - it used to be called terrible pig - but when people realised just how hostile
and destructive the teeth were, a name change was in order …
Coming in at number 4 now we have Estemmenosuchus.
That took me (just) X time(s) to get right!
This creatures name means crowned crocodile - it lived around 267 million years ago and
again, its named suited it.
This creature had protruding horns, not actually dissimilar to the antlers of a moose.
They reached a body length of more than 10ft and had massive skulls over 2ft long.
I know I said the name suited them, but that was more the crown part.
They were actually more closely related to modern day mammals than dinosaurs.
The rhino sized creatures have become famous for their strange stumpy horns, but scientists
still arent sure why exactly they had them.
Don't get me wrong, horns are cool - but most animals usually have a reason for having them
- maybe these guys just thought they were cool.
Next up at number 3 we have the Madtsoia.
This is an extinct mega snake that first appeared in the fossil records around 89.3 million
years ago.
They were huge - thought to be about 16ft long.
They needed their size too because thought they may have hunted and kill dinosaurs - yeah,
nothing much, just huge dinosaurs for lunch.
Whatever its prey was, it strangled them to them death in the same way boas and pythons
do today.
It was very successful - so successful in fact that it survived the mass extinction
that killed off the dinosaurs and continued to live for about 20 million years.
As a species - not just one of them - now that would be impressive.
Next up at number 2 we have Jaekelop terus.
This extinct aquatic arthropod is also known as the Giant Sea Scorpion.
8ft long this thing was, sometimes even 8 and a half fit long.
Insane.
Its thought to be the largest known arthropod ever discovered.
It lived around 406 million million years ago and was an incredible hunter - all thanks
to its eye which were probably about the size of your head.
They had segmented bodies with specialized limbs and spikes.
They had spring loaded claws to snatch up fish as they passed by, with the largest ones
having an 18 inch spiked claw.
I bet many things that saw this just gave up and died.
And finally at number 1 now we have Therizinosaurus.
That means sythe lizard - and youre about to find out why.
This huge theropod dinosaur lived around 70 million years ago and stood over 11ft tall
- over twice the height of your average person.
They also weighed between 3 and 5 tonnes so, bit more than a chicken.
As youve probably already seen from the pictures, these creatures are known for their gigantic
claws on each of the three digits of their front limbs.
Its thought that the claws were over 3ft long - they have the largest known claws of any
animal - if you know of anything with claws bigger than 3ft then go ahead and prove them
wrong, but I don't think youll find anything even near that size.
Surprisingly, these creatures were actually herbivorous, they didnt use their claws for
hunting - predators would definitely get a 3ft slash in the face if they tried to come
near though.
Well, theres your latest reminder to be thankful we live in the age we do - in fact, humans
probably only got this far because some of the creatures weve talked about werent around
to absolutely mash our faces in - and thats quite a nice thought if youre ever feeling
down.
Thanks for watching as
always
guys - my name is Danny Burke and Ill
see
you all in the next video.